Oregon: Plane Passengers Restrain Unruly Traveler

A passenger on a commercial flight from Anchorage to Portland was arrested by the F.B.I. on Monday after witnesses said he tried to open an emergency exit during the plane’s descent. Passengers and crew members on the Alaska Airlines flight told investigators that the man, Alexander M. Herrera, 23, of Arizona, made “unusual statements” before pulling a door handle in an emergency exit row and setting off an alarm, said an F.B.I. spokeswoman, Beth Anne Steele. A passenger, Henry Pignataro, said that he put Mr. Herrera in a choke hold and that he and another passenger held Mr. Herrera down and asked flight attendants for restraints. Seat belt extensions and three sets of shoelaces were used to restrain him.

A version of this brief appears in print on May 28, 2013, on Page A11 of the New York edition with the headline: Oregon: Plane Passengers Restrain Unruly Traveler. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe